By the Light of the Full Moon
by Original White Rabbit
Summary: I basically am writing the life story of a character i created while playing Dungeons and Dragons. Alkaria is a miscievious wood elf that belongs to a noble family in a very small town amidst the Shadow Woods. Read about her adventures in West Zaravon.
1. Chapter 1: At Roads End

**Chapter One: At Roads End**

The sounds from down the hall were slowly retreating to a quiet accumulation of polite niceties and good-byes, as the guests were leaving. Footsteps approached her room and she blew out her lantern, feigning sleep. Her sister entered the room and in the dark, disrobed and clambered atop her bed, no doubt tired out from the evenings festivities. The room was quiet once more. Alkaria waited until she heard the soft snoring of the other elf and then sat up in bed.

She gazed out the window next to her bed. The moon was high in the sky and so beautiful, there was no point in wasting a night like this, she thought to herself. She silently crept out of bed, reaching under her mattress for the long member of steel hidden there. The sword was definitely a piece of work, all right. Passed down through seven generations of the Amakiir family, this sword was said to have seen all the family's plight over the centuries.

Alkaria sheathed the sword deftly by her side and opened the window. She climbed down the side of the wall, clinging onto the tangling brush with a skill practised over the many years of escaping her dreary home-life. When she reached the bottom, she hooded herself in black and went straight to the stables. She needed to disguise herself because despite the lateness of the hour, there are always prying eyes about the Shadow Woods.

She went over to the stables and knocked on the little obscure door to the left of the entrance. A little Elven boy answered.

"Take this gold piece and tend to Farainen. You know how I like her, boy."

The greedy little thing grinned and took the coin. He went round the back and brought forth the black mount. The boy was getting good at this, she thought. It's almost as if he expected me to be here tonight.

She took her horse and mounted her, galloping off into the dark forest.

She knew her way well and set a pace that some of the men in the guard house would have a difficulty to match. She arrived at a little clearing and saw a shady mounted figure in the shadows there already.

"You're late", he said in a flat tone.

"Oh really? I'd say that you're rather early, Pan. I don't recall you were ever so eager to meet with me", Alkaria replied trying hard to keep the giveaway mirth from her face.

"Don't flatter yourself, my lady. You know full well my heart lies with the thrill of the hunt and the sweet taste of victory."

At this point he came out of the shadows to reveal his horse-like appendages and sheik chestnut coating. He had matching hair that formed in scruffy tufts around his chiselled features. The centaur halted in front of her, his muscular torso accentuated in the moon's light and his blue piercing gaze as mysterious as the moon itself. He pulled out his crossbow and loaded it with a bolt.

"Follow me. I've found a path where the trail's fresh."

She let him lead her off into the shadows and then the hunt began.

They would follow the trail for hours a night, smelling the crisp air and listening to the still forest life as they chased their prey.

Sometimes they would just be silent, concentrating really hard on the pounding footfall of the creature they pursued. Sometimes they missed their prey entirely, talking about their extremely differing lives. Tonight was one of those nights.

"So I heard that the centaur settlement has been having a tough time lately, what with us refusing to trade with you and all."

"Yeah, well you know how elves are. They're arrogant bastards that don't know when to stop bickering about every little thing and digging into the business of others."

She stared at him in shocked silence. When he saw that, he burst out laughing, "Of course not you! Just all those others that think they hold so much power over us. I mean, what does trading with the outside world have to do with them? We're just centaurs trying to make an honest living."

"It's not that. My family stopped trading with you because they don't like humans. They're the only ones to trade with outside the Forest and Father got angry."

"Well humans aren't bad. They just don't know much about the rhythms of nature and how to be at peace."

"I don't have a problem with them! Father does! I've never met one. I do wonder what they'd be like though…"

"Hey! I think I see one!" he exclaimed as he pointed into the brush.

"A human!?" Alkaria said. She looked exasperated, "In Shadow Wood!!?"

"No, don't be silly! A rabbit! Quick, lets get it before it…urgh to late! It's gone." He laughed again, a deep sound that made Alkaria feel awkward for being so childish. "You would believe a human being in Shadow Wood?"

Alkaria was glad it was too dark for him to see her face as she blushed a deep red through her golden brown complexion. They spent the rest of the night chasing prey that always eluded them and conversing about the plight of their settlements. Eventually the sun's rays broke through the canopy of leaves as dawn broke out upon the mighty forest. The creatures of the day started to stir once more, just as the final rabbit raced from their grasp.

"I have to go." Alkaria said as she turned to leave.

"Will we meet again tomorrow night?"

"um well I cant do this every night and…"

He kept a pleading look in his eyes but did not meet her gaze. She looked away and then said, "but I guess tomorrow would be fine. I just have this thing I need to go to, so I might be late."

"That's nothing knew. You're always late."

"Yes well later than I normally am. My father said I'm to meet with someone tomorrow night. He wouldn't tell me who he was, only that I am to be prompt."

Pan raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Then finally he said, "I'll see you tomorrow," over his shoulder as he trotted off into the deep heart of the forest.

She was left there, alone. She sighed and wondered why she didn't have the heart to tell him her father wanted her to be wed off to this man. She turned around and headed off home.

It was early dawn when she returned to her silken sheets. Just as she had suspected, her elder sister, Terena, had stayed exactly as she had left her. Alkaria placed her long sword carefully under the padded mattress where no one would find it. She then tried to get what little sleep she could before people would force her awake.

Not many hours passed before she started her tedious daily routine of awakening, bathing and wearing the restricting garments of noble life. The day went by like any other. She had various public appearances with her family in the small town. They were the only nobility in that settlement of Wood Elves and were almost treated like royalty and were certainly idolised as such.

Her father was in the process of finding a suitable bachelor for her as she was next in line to get married off to a wealthy man and fulfil her life as a lady Amakiir. She wanted no such life however and longed for freedom outside of noble life.

It was the end of the day and she was in the ballroom, practising a very fast waltz with her hand maid, Rosalie.

"Keep in time, Alkaria. There's a good girl. No, no, no! Twist your foot out like this… while holding your skirts! There – good, you're getting it."

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Rosalie signalled at the small orchestra to stop playing. A page came in who had obviously been running very fast.

"Miss…Miss… there's… a man at the door… for you…" he managed to say through deep shuddering breaths, "Your father says… to be ready to receive… our guest."

"Thank you, Yvan. Tell him I shall be down in a few minutes."

The boy nodded, hovering there in the doorway for a few seconds and then dashed out again.

Alkaria turned expectantly to Rosalie as her maid looked her up and down. "You look beautiful," she smiled, "try not to make him drop dead this time."

"Oh believe me. I'll try my hardest if it means he'll leave." She winked and left, making her way down the stairs towards the guest's dining room. Before opening the door, she heard her father laughing with the supposed man at some pleasantries they had just shared.

She turned the knob and saw her father dishing out a glass of their finest wine to the other man.

He looked up from his glass and stared at her. It was from then on that she realised this was going to be a long night and it would take a lot more than bad etiquette to get rid of this one. The glance was one of pure determination. He was silently saying he would claim her, no matter the cost and showed all the arrogance of one of the other noble clans. At that look, her father turned around.

"Ah, Alkaria, come in. This is Lord Nerinius Krelinor of the Krelinor clan. He was just telling me of how he plans to court you, although I shall let him explain himself to you over dinner, as pre-arranged."

He stepped out the room and shut the door, leaving Alkaria alone with this overconfident lord. The room filled with a suffocating silence as she glared at him with the tenacity of a weed. She wasn't going to break. She never has and never will.

His look subtly changed to one of amusement. This was a game to him? She continued her cat-like stare, piercing his eyes like the tip of a blade would skin a rabbit.

He was the first to break the silence.

"Good Evening my dear Lady. Shall we sit at this lavish feast that has been prepared for us?" his voice sounded cocky, almost as if it was a dare.

She stiffened her posture, broke her gaze and made it over to the table. Let him feel truly unwelcome to bask in her presence. She would walk out the victor in this match, not he, for she was the one with the upper hand here. He wanted something from her and all she had to do was not give it to him and make sure he never returned.

They sat at the table and started dining. She did not eat her food but stabbed at it, as if it were the steaks fault that she was bourn a woman in this day and age.

He started the conversation once again, "Your father gave away my intentions so quickly, I was bit stunned. I have no secrecy now that you know I am to court you."

"I already knew, from the day you arranged this with father." She said coldly.

"Oh… well how unfortunate. I wanted to surprise you."

"You don't even know me and even if you did, I'd tell you this: stop wasting your time and energy on me. I'm not worth what you would endure if you took me on."

"My my, but aren't we tactful today?"

"There's no need for tact. I'm not trying to impress anyone here."

"To put what I was going to say bluntly, there's no escaping what is inevitable. You will be mine, whether you like it or not."

"And if I refuse?"

"It's too late for refusal. Your father has already accepted it as a part of your future and you and I are to be wed on the 20th of next month. There's nothing to be done about it, so you may as well try to cooperate." He grinned a wolfish smile. His eyes perused her body, eagerly awaiting that day.

Alkaria on the other hand was shocked into silence. Her father had never told her about this.

"Oh and by the way, I like my women to be obedient, precious little things. Don't speak unless you're spoken to and stay out of my way until you are summoned to me."

Alkaria stared him down for the last time before saying, "Pardon me sir, may I please be excused for a few minutes? I wish to powder my nose."

"Now that's what I like to see," his eyes glowed with triumph, "yes, you may go but don't take too long now."

She got up and strode neatly down the room to the hall. She shut the door firmly and made her way up the stairs.

She couldn't believe her family had done this to her! She felt betrayed but she wasn't going to let that get in the way of her life. She went to her and her older sister's room and started ruffling through her drawers. She put on the old leather armour Pan had given her and pulled out a musty old back sack. It still smelt of straw from that trip with Pan into the heart of the Forest with her centaur friend.

She stuffed it with a few necessities and put it on her back. Finally she drew her long sword from inside her mattress.

"ALKARIA!!!" she heard the familiar voice of Terena shrieking her name from behind her.

"Sorry sister, but I have to do this," and with her final words, Alkaria jumped out the window, clinging to the wall and hurriedly clamoured down, not caring for the noise she made. She ran to the stables, got her horse and mounted it, galloping off into the forest.


	2. Chapter 2: A Crash Course with Destiny

**Chapter 2: A Crash Course with Destiny**

Pan awaited in the silence of the forest. He knew he was early and that she was going to be late. He smiled to himself in that dark crevice. It gave him time to observe the forest and to think.

It was a full moon tonight, even purer than that of the night before. The intensity of its gaze upon the land was awe inspiring in the milky blue haze. He wondered if they would find something to hunt tonight. What creatures came out on such a bright night? Surely they would find nothing.

Just as he was contemplating that possibility, he heard a noise coming from the East. It sounded like a wounded wolf howling to the moon but then he heard something else. It sounded like the caw of a bird.

"A bird in the midst of the forest on a bright night like this?" Pan thought aloud. My mind must be playing tricks on me, he thought. It must be the rum I had earlier but I never drank enough to be that drunk…

He heard the sound again, slightly fainter than last time.

There was no mistaking it. It was the cry of an eagle or a hawk, he thought. He started making his way towards it.

"Perhaps I can get in some hunting practice before Alkaria arrives. I'm sure she'd be pleased if I caught us a late night meal," he said quietly. And maybe I should stop thinking aloud – I may scare off the prey.

He got far into the forest before hearing the next craggy cry from the eagle. He was close to it, he could tell. He stopped for a second, loading a bolt upon his gnarled crossbow. As soon as he heard that reassuring click, as the bolt fell into place, he stalked confidently forward. He could hear the foliage in front of him rustling. It sounded like there were more than one of the birds, perhaps a mating couple.

He grinned. Excellent, two birds with one stone, he mused.

He parted the bushes, setting his crossbow atop one of the outlying branches. He peered through the gap and did not see an eagle nor a hawk. In befuddlement he dropped his crossbow. It landed on the ground in front of him drawing the creature's attention away from it's bloodied meal.

In the next few seconds Pan felt excruciating pain as a black blurred mass of feathers and talons came flying on him. Pan let out a shrieking scream from the bottom of his lungs before collapsing to the ground. He felt his one back horse leg twist and to his horror, snap.

Before he could make any kind of response, the creature was upon him yet again, making fast work of his torso, scratching at his insides. Pan used the last bit of his strength in an attempt to push the creature back, as the blood was openly flowing from his fresh wounds.

The last thing he saw was a sharp beak, neatly stripping a tendon from his arm, as his vision quickly blackened.

Alkaria's pace slowed as she rode through the forest. Her heart was racing so wildly she couldn'y help but wonder if would fly out of her chest. She slowed and then halted completely at the glade where her and Pan met every other night.

That's funny, he's not here, she observed. He's never been late once in his life since we first met. Where is he? She dismounted her horse and waited for a couple of minutes. Then she heard it, a blood curdling scream that tingled from the base of her spin all the way up her back.

The most chilling thing about it was that it was a man's cry of antagonising pain, the lethal kind of pain. She mounted her horse almost as quickly as a heart beat and raced off in the direction of the East. She snatched a quick glance at the path ahead of her and saw horse tracks. Her head was screaming at her to go faster, go and help her friend quicker but her heart wanted to deny that this ever happened.

A few minutes passed and she sharply reigned in her horse to witness the horror that befallen her friend. There Pan lay slumped on the ground with the rest of his horse-like body. He had massive gashes in the flesh down his front and his eyes were open but the lights extinguished. Alkaria stood there, staring wide eyed at her best friend, looking no worse than the meal they were supposed to catch that night.

Instead of feeling grief over the loss of her dearest friend, she felt an empty hollowness inside of her. In the bushes on her left, she heard a noise. It was the sound of scratching and then cawing, as loud as if someone were ringing a bell to the ear. The sound awakened something deep within the confines of her heart, something which she had never felt before.

Alkaria was shaking with an inexplicable and uncontrollable anger. She felt it burn inside of her until it consumed her. She grabbed her long sword's hilt, unsheathed it and charged in the direction of the creatures incessant clawing.

She flung a shrieking cry of pure fury and hatred full force at the creature, while swiping her sword wildly about. She jumped through the brush and pierced a wall of black feathers. The creature that had murdered her dearest companion, turned around. It stood at nearly twice her size, which was at least a good 8 feet high and had eyes as red as the blood which now stained her sword. It had long thin stalks for legs, on the end of which were talons big enough to take on a cow. The beak of this colossal bird was as straight as her weapon and more likely than not, just as sharp.

Alkaria realised she was staring into the burning eyes of a raven but this was no ordinary raven, it was a lycanthrope. It let out another loud caw as it spread its mighty wings their full wing span. Alkaria released her sword and tried for another stab but before she could take another swing, the bird lunged forward and pecked at her leg.

She fell forward and tried to use the impact of her weight to her advantage, by pushing her sword into the were-raven's feet. She succeeded in that blow and the raven let out a piercing shriek into the chill night air. The raven's foot was pinned beneath her sword to the ground. Suddenly, with a gut-wrenching sound, the raven yanked it's foot free of the sword and took flight into the night sky, leaving a trail of blood as it did so.

The wind of its wing beat was enough to knock her down on the ground. As she landed on her knees, her adrenaline used up, she felt the emotions that weren't expressed, choking her throat and suffocating her. She broke out into heart racking sobs and then tears that flowed freely down her cheeks. Pan wasn't coming back and she had no where left to go.

She cried till she had no tears left and was too tired to sob. She crawled towards her deceased friend and curled up near him, falling into a deep much needed sleep.


	3. Chapter 3: Deja Vu?

**Chapter 3: Déjà Vu?**

The creature stared at her from the depths of the swirling blackness, red flaming eyes penetrating her own gaze upon the creature.

It let out another terrible caw from its sharp beak and soared over her head, disappearing into the darkness. Where could it be? Alkaria looked around for it and suddenly was aware of the puny hunting knife in her grip. She waited for the hideous abomination to appear, but only heard the sound of her own breathing. Then she felt something come from behind her.

She spun around on her heels, pointing the tiny knife menacingly at the enemy. To her surprise it was not a raven but a centaur. He walked further out from the misty shadows to reveal himself to be Pan.

"Pan! Pan! You're alive!" she shrieked in delight.

Pan lifted his arms to enfold her in his embrace. She returned the embrace and felt that something was horribly wrong. His body was cold, as dead as the corpse she had cried over. She looked up into his eyes and screamed. They were two bright burning orbs of red and just as she saw them, his skin began to tear and rip off, being replaced by black feathers and a beak as sharp as a scythe.

She tried to plunge her dagger into the creature but the creature reacted before she had the time to think. It had her in its large wings and pushed her down, pinning her with its mighty talons, each the size of her swords hilt. The creature menacingly held its beak ready to peck at her face, when suddenly it all disappeared in a wall of smoke.

Alkaria found that she was no longer submerged within the deep choking black smoke but instead found herself on the outcrop of a farm. It was the dead of night and she was staring at a field empty of crops. It wasn't wheat season, she decided.

In the distance she saw a little farmhouse and wondered where she was. She started walking towards the home, listening to sounds of cattle chewing grass and making their respective sounds in the night. Half-way to the farm house, she started to wonder, why are cattle making such a noise in the middle of the night? Do they not need sleep too?

Just as she was in mid thought, she heard a man's voice in the distance. He was coming this very way. Alkaria looked around for a place to hide but could see none. The wheat was too low to provide the coverage needed. She decided to stay in full view and ask the man some questions.

She heard the footsteps coming closer and then she saw him. He stood about six feet tall and had the groggy look of someone who had just woken up. He walked up to her and then just as Alkaria expected him to get a fright from her presence, he walked straight past her as if he never even saw her.

He was carrying a strange weapon, of the likes she had never seen before. It had two long metal pipes welded parallel together, with what appeared, to Alkaria, to be a leather hilt, but it was an odd shape, larger and placed at the wrong angle off the two pipes. When he passed her, she noticed another odd thing about this man. His ears were not pointed but very small and curved. He was not Elven but a Human!

"Damn Cows making all this bloody racket! I reckon there be something fishy goin' on down there," the man said, "just ain't natural – first me dog, then me cows. Next thing you know it'll be me Martha too!" He chuckled at his own joke but then heard the cows making a different sort of noise, the sort of noise one makes when one is either scared or in pain.

The farmer lifted the metallic rods to his face and walked on more cautiously than before. Alkaria could see his destination – a deserted looking barn house, on the side of the perimeter. One of the doors was swinging on rusty hinges in the slight breeze.

As they got nearer, Alkaria smelt fresh entrails and blood and sensed the nervousness of the other mooing cows in the distance. The farmer must have felt it too, for he slightly quickened his pace. A couple of meters from the entrance he bent down. She saw what he was examining. It was a trail of dark crimson, reflecting the full moons light, leading into the barn.

He stalked cautiously up to the door and then kicked it open, pointing his metal rods into the barn.

"Who goes there?!" he shouted, "I have a gun and i ain't afraid to use it!!!" He was greeted with the silence of the night… and the disembowelled body of a cow.

He walked over to the cow, kneeling down and muttering to himself, "Meh, poor 'zabelle. She was over five months pregnant and her yield was good. What kind of monster would do this to me cows?"

Alkaria had the sudden impulse to look up. Those same burning eyes greeted her, from the upper reaches of the barn.

"Hey Mister! Mister! RUN!!! It's a were-Raven!!!" Alkaria screamed at him. He didn't seem to hear her voice and the creature looked about ready to pounce upon him and finish its meal, "WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE!!? **RUN!!!**"

It was no use; the man could not hear her. He stood up from his cow, tut tutting from under his breath and then the creature made its move. The man shrieked as a huge mass of black feathers engulfed him. She blinked and in that small space of time she was no longer an observer.

Alkaria was scoring the flesh of the man, in long strokes with her huge talons, enjoying the way the man twitched with his last few breaths. She started to peck at his insides and thought that this meal was much more satisfying than the bovine, which now lay cold in a dead heap on the floor. She finished her still warm meal and hopped outside on her long, stalk-like legs.

She crouched down, almost touching the ground outside the stable and then leaped up, flapping her muscular wings, flying high into the air. Then she soared and flew away into the night sky.

Alkaria opened her eyes. She looked around slowly, as the groggy haze started to clear from her vision. She expected to find herself lying next to Pan. She expected there to be wounds on her torso and furthermore, she expected to be wearing clothes.

She gasped as the odd realization crept through her. She found she was in a part of the forest she had never been before, lying curled up beneath a tree and she was stark naked. Not a piece of clothing could be seen anywhere. She inspected herself, wanting to clean her wounds but they were gone. She couldn't believe it, the huge gaping hole where the raven tore at her with its colossal talons, was gone.

Where was she and how could this be? She jumped up and decided to try and find her way back to Pan. Hopefully she wouldn't run into any search parties that were most probably looking for her. It's very likely that they'd given up on her though, she thought. They didn't want her much anyways, if her father was going to let her marry that pig!

She walked on through the forest in a random direction, her bare feet softly touching the ground. It was dawn and the forest was awakening to this knew day just like any other. She watched as golden rays of sun light shone through the canopy in little beams and how in turn, various animals came from out of their dark hovels.

Alkaria walked in that same direction for up to half the day, when she came to the forest's edge. There were a few trees standing between her and human territory. She was about to turn back and go another direction, when she suddenly felt like she had been to this place before.

She walked out of the trees a little more, to find she was in a meadow of long grass. A couple of feet away was a big, white farm house and further down the hill it was built on, lay some wheat fields that had no yield. This was the place she saw in her dream, Alkaria speculated. I don't think that could be possible, for then the farmer would have to be… I hope it's not true.

She suddenly felt an overwhelmingly eerie sense that this was all too real and started to set a speady pace for the barn house. As she got closer, she became more cautious. She saw that the barn door was slightly ajar swinging on its hinges in the slihgt wind. It was dreadfully silent. She went into the dark doorway and the sight that awaited her there was far too familiar to have just been mere coincidence.

A gigantic wave of nausea overcame her as she stared at the dry red mess. She felt sick to the stomach and weak in her knees. She dropped kneeling to the floor, bowing her head and clenching her fist tightly to supress the inevitable sobbs that racked her body. The inards of the bovine on the floor, the man butchered into something that one would hardly call a man anymore and the big pool of sticky crimson glittering in the faint light emanating from the doorway.

All of the gore that happened that night, it was all hers. She had done this, it was real. Why? Why is this all happening to me? She bit her lip down hard, nearly drawing her own blood, to stop it from quivering. She looked down at her hands. They looked nothing like… like that thing! She was no blood thirsty beast!

She stood up, gaining more stubborn resolve as she did so. She had no part of this. It was that creature. But I can't deny it, she thought. I did become that beast and I am apart to blame, but as long as I keep it in control, this won't happen again. No lycanthropy will keep Alkaria Amakiir from the world!

She turned out of the barn and stalked away.


	4. Chapter 4: The Winds of Change

**Chapter 4: The Winds of Change**

Alkaria went back to her concealment in the trees once more and sat down to meditate on the series of unfortunate events that had just tumbled down upon her.

She had run away from home with her sword and a backpack, containing many bare essentials but nothing that vaguely represented her noble life. Those things were all useless now. I must have turned into that monsterous abomination and dropped my sword and backpack. All of those items will be at the scene of Pans death. She gasped aloud. Pan is dead, Pan is dead, Pan is dead, she thought as she supressed the urge to scream her fury and frustration at the world. Any thoughts of living with him are all just fantasies in my head now. I wish I had a better back-up plan!

She shivered as a rather unpleasant cool breeze tickled at her exposed skin, giving her goosebumps. She realised the bizarre reality of her situation was that she was sitting naked, under a tree in the early morning, worrying about what her father might think if he found her. She could not help but erupt into a bright vibrant laughter, which split her sides, releasing some of her pent up anxiety.

All right, the first thing I think I aught to do is find some shelter and food and possibly clothing. Knowing father, he will search for three days before giving up but by then I intend to be long gone.

She looked at the farmstead. I wonder if he had a family or was alone. If I knocked on the door, would someone answer? Most likely not because no one cleaned up his death and I'm sure a wife or children would notice if their beloved father was missing. She observed that she wouldn't check her father's bed to see if he had survived the night. She would have never even spoken to father for days on end, had he not consistently summoned her to his side.

She sighed and finally thought what have I got to lose? She went to the old white farmhouse and knocked on the back door. There was no response. She lifted the handle and it was open. This must have been where he came out last night, she speculated.

She spent the rest of the morning searching the empty house. She found that the farmer lived in solitude, alhough he must have had a wife, because in his cupboard he had a box labeled 'Darlene,' with some woman's clothing packed neatly inside. It smelled of must, misuse and a sligtly perfumed tinge that wafted through the air. She pulled out a shabby looking dress that was too big for her and figured it would do till she found some decent leathers perhaps.

In the kitchen, she discovered enough food that would last her a grand total of two days at most. Well it had to be enough to last her for her journey back to her sword. She would not go to any foreign place without it. Alongside Pan, it was her foremost companion and when she felt incredibly sad as a child, she would go practice outside for hours with her sword. That hadn't changed. It is as much an extension of her arm as the trees of the forest are extensions of eachother, their roots all intricately interconnected. Being without it, she felt like a piece of her soul was missing.

She pulled off the sheets of the bed, fashioning a rucksack to hold her food. She left the house and went back into the forest. It was the early afternoon then but in Shadow Wood even the brigtest light will leave a trail of groping darkness in its wake.

She spent the whole day, night and a bit of the next day wandering about aimlessly until she became one with the rhuthms of the Forest. She became used to how it all worked together and awe-struck by the beauty of nature, the essence of all life itself, she realised, must have sprouted from a forest. Animals never had problems with their father's or worried if their friends died. They accepted it as a part of their lives.

"Bless thee, Corellon Lorethian, for thine divine teachings thou havest brought me," she prayed aloud, "I have learned the valuable lesson of acceptance and hope that your Mighty Wisdom will spread on to others who are in need of guidance."

She eventually ran out of food but learned to cope with eating once a day. She learned how to live off nature after being chucked in the deep end and was eternally grateful to the misfortune that had happened to her, for within her it granted a change and a second chance at life.

Three days and two nights after her lycanthrope transformation, on a blissful morning of watching the sun rise, she stumbled upon a tree trunk that had been clawed at beyond repair. Her hair stood on end. She was close, she could feel it.

She went through the bushes and gasped as the full extent of what she and the other creature had done. Her horse had been dismantled into bits of unidentifiable gibb and her clothes (or what was left of them) lay there, tattered and torn, with clumps of feathers strewn around the forest floor.

She walked cautiously a few steps forward and then stopped. Frozen in her steps, she saw exactly what had befallen Pan in the dawn's crystal clear light. She did not feal sorrow or regret, nor did she feel anger. She felt hollow. Her friends face was still contorted in the motion of his scream.

She looked around and found her sword not far away. She picked it up, cleaned off the glinting metal and rested it on the palm of her hand. She then neatly slid it across her hand, making a crimson insition parallel to the lines of her hand. She did not feel the pain as it was too minor to be compaired to the loss of a friend.

"I vow upon your dead body, Pan, I will be rid of this curse… I will help others with it along the way and rid the world of all similar evils." She promised softly aloud. She let some of her blood drop on the sand next to his cold corpse. The ground absorbed it, quickly quenching its thirst.

"UPON CORELLON'S RETURN TO THIS WORLD, YOU WILL BE AVENGED!!!"

She turned to her backpack, flung someways away in some under brush, she began pulling out some extra clothing she had stored and got changed. She knelt down, giving a small burial blessing for her horse and turned to leave the way she came.

* * *

The next few weeks were spent scouring West Zaravon for answers. Alkaria travelled from town to town, posing as a lycanthrope researcher, looking for more information on the topic. She learned of a great library in her many travels. A library so huge, it held all the books known to man, some say. A library so vast, wizards from all over the land will make a year's worth journey, just to read one manuscript from its hallowed halls. Alkaria took these rumours to heart and speedily made her trail lead towards Dark Maze, a big trading town said to host this mighty collector of books.


	5. Chapter 5: An Unexpected Encounter

**Chapter 5: An Unexpected Encounter**

The horse's hooves were kicking up orange dirt hard on the long road. The Sun had just peeked over the distant horizon. Alkaria didn't have time to admire its pinky orange excellence as she rode on. She had transformed into that abomnable creature once, since the death of her friend, waking up in the midst of nowhere. Corellon had granted her the greatest of luck, as she ended up in a small town close to Dark Maze.

She smiled to herself as she knew she was gaining on her destination. Soon, she thought, soon I'll be rid of this damned curse! Her horse was panting heavily and snorting through her nose. Alkaria stroked her neck, lending it what few comforts she could, as the small fleck in the distance began to take shape.

As Dark Maze came closer, Alkaria realised how truly huge this metropolitan city was. Tall twining towers in the distance formed the tip tops of the city. One is red and the other is blue and they look to be connected by overlapping wooden walkways. The city looked to be a huge sprawl of buidlings upon buildings, connecting via a spider's web of walkways and planks. It took Alkaria the rest of the morning to reach the structures that defined Dark Maze and eventually her horse crossed the vast bridge, built over a gigantic water wheel, which led through the city gates.

It all seemed oddly out of place, over a great canyon and was supported by many collosal beams of wood. The city looks rather unstable in some areas, Alkaria speculated to herself. Perhaps some kind of magic keeps the town aloft; otherwise it would have surely collapsed into the gushing river bellow.

Giant torches were lit on the bridge and she got through without even a backwards look from the guards on duty. They seemed accustomed to allowing strangers within their midst. The metropolis, having been built of so many layers, was suspended in a constant darkness from the buildings above. Alkaria soon learnt that there were four different sections to the city and that she had entered Shade Town.

Waisting no time, she found an Inn, where she stabled the horse and made her way to the Great Library she had heard so much about. Finding the library was the easiest task she'd done in days. It seemed that the townsfolk were used to giving directions to strangers. An excited anticipation overtook her, as she entered the tall archway that signaled the entrance to the temple dedicated to knowledge. She looked around and her jaw dropped in exasperation. She saw isles upon isles of tomes, Swirling high above her head. Big, thin, old, new – this place had them all.

"'Scuse me missh, but I'm gonna hav' ta ask ya ta give me ya sword 'ere."

In her gaping awe, she hadn't even noticed the big guardsman at the door, eyeing her with suspicion.

"Oh… yes, of course," she replied, unsheathing it and giving it to him. "Be gentle with her, she's old and precious to me."

The guard nodded and neatly tucked it away into his guardsroom.

"Now move along, missh."

She walked into the library and suddenly felt very intimidated. Where to start? She decided to ask someone who works here, where the mythology section was. A small man led her the way to a vast section of musty old tomes and waved his hand in a general direction. She thanked him and realised it was probably the biggest section of the whole library. Eventally she found the section on lycanthropy. It was on the second level of the library and on her way to the correct isle, she caught a glimpse of some strange people entering the door.

They looked like a pack of experienced travellers. First, coming through the door, was a small man in plain brown robes. He had black scraggly hair and a look of utter glee on his face. Alkaria wondered how one could be so happy to find books. He looked as if he had just met his true love for the first time in ages.

The second person to enter was a beautiful, short woman, clothed in a glossy orange cloak with a contrasting green robe underneath. Her golden hair was bound back neatly in a plait, revealing her elegantly pointed ears and Alkaria realised she was a high elf. Her heart soared in elation. It's been a while since I've seen another elf, hasn't it?

Following behind her was a very tall, burly man. He was wearing quite heavy-looking metal armour and a helmet on his head, covering his face. The helmet looked rather like a worn out metal bucket and even had a few dents to make it authentic. Alkaria couldn't help but twitch her lips into a smile. What was such an obvious mercenary doing in a library?

He had his hands in fists on his hips and was surveying the whole library in a sweep of his head. The other two seemed to be deciding on something as she quickly strode down an aisle, just in time to avert the mercenary's gaze. She sighed and started her tedious search on lycanthropy cures.

She was not even half an hour into her search when she heard footsteps behind her. She wizzed around, shutting her book sharply and making a louder sound than she anticipated. She was staring back into the eyes of the blond elf.

"Greetings, friend," she addressed Alkaria in Elven.

Alkaria smiled politely, "Greetings back to you, stranger."

"What brings you to this place?"

Alkaria narrowed her eyes. She felt compelled to tell this woman everything she knew but she wasn't sure why. There was something about this one, a particular gleam in the eye perhaps? Alkaria could not say.

The Elf, in Alkaria's lengthly silence, extended a hand to her, "Erossia Zight. Forgive me. I have no need for manners in the ways of nature and so it is easy to simply forget."

They shook hands and Alkaria introduced herself in return, "Alkaria Amakiir, of the Amakiir family. It's a pleasure to meet you, Erossia. I have not seen a friendly Elven face for quite some time."

"There are Elves in this town. Dressed and moulded in the ways of man, they are, but Elves none-the-less."

"To me, I see them not as Elves but as equals to men. People of few breaths, they are. I cannot allow myself to mingle with their kind, it would be waisting precious time and I have little enough as it is."

The blond Elf raised an eyebrow at her.

"Precious little time?"

Alkaria suddenly couldn't hold it in. A burden this great deserved to be shared and this Erossia elf may be able to help. She seems to know more than she let on.

"I am on a personal quest to regain my dignity and avenge a friend," Alkaria took a breath and continued in a hushed tone, "I am… afflicted with a curse of sorts... I am trying to find a cure and heard that this library offers the best score of knowledge in all of West Zaravon."

Erossia's eyes lit up and widened. Alkaria couldn't tell what the other elf was thinking. She looked back at her, violet eyes flashing a trace of emotion that Alkaria could not read. Then the elf looked away and muttered something Alkaria could just barely hear.

"…lycanthropy. Are you a lycanthrope?"

Silence lingered in the air for a moment longer and then, "Yes."

Erossia looked back at her.

"We can help," a warm smile broke out on her face, "I'm a lycanthrope too and it would seem that Wendigo has brought you to us. We're searching for a cure here too."

Alkaria could not help but smile back. Erossia seemed to be telling the truth, Alkaria could feel it intuitively.

"You speak of 'we' and 'us'. Do you suggest more?"

Erossia's smile grew bigger. She nodded and said, "Come. Let us introduce you to the rest of them. Know that you are in very good hands, my dear." With that, she took Alkaria's rist and directed her down a series of aisles, where the tomes were dusty and mildew tinged the air.

Eventually, they rounded a bookshelf and heard a deep, gruff man's voice that sounded slightly muffled, "…strange symbols, Master Purdan?"

The man, that was supposedly 'Master Purdan,' replied, "Oh Krassin, do shut up. I read these symbols because they tell me important information about Kaervek."

His voice was very shrewd and had a tint of arrogance. He spoke every word clearly with very precise annunciation.

At that moment they came into full view and Alkaria saw the merc from before, casually standing next to a gnarled wooden desk. The desk was littered with papers and sitting at the desk was a man in a black cloak with lengthly blonde hair and a black top hat.

The mercenary seemed to have not noticed them but carried on talking, "Kaervek? You mean those squiggly lines tell you something useful?" He put his hand up, palm vertical in the air and fingers spread wide, "Praise the flame!"

"Praise the flame," was the sarcastic response from the cloaked man. He made a false mimicry of Krassin's raised arm, clearly irrate at the younger man's exuberance. The gesture made Purdan look up as he noticed the two elves intently watching the two men converse.

As soon as Purdan's eyes fell on Erossia, Alkaria felt every ounce of genuine warmth disperse and a calm coolness wash over her. She narrowed her eyes at him.

He broke out into a cheery grin, "Oh, hello Erossia. So nice of you to finally join me." He was evidently smiling at her to annoy her. Erossia twitched but kept her calm demeanor.

"Hello, Purdan," she said coldly and her eyes flashed angrily as she stared at him. Alkaria felt slightly uneasy about this man. He must have commited a very foul deed to insult Erossia so. She couldn't think of anything he might have done and so kept silent. Her eyes wondered over to the mercenary. She couldn't tell his take on the situation as his helmet made him almost statue-like, standing there with his arms folded across his chest.

"Erossia, are we still angry about that? Surely you never expected me to walk with _you_ all that way?"

Erossia's mouth made a flat line as she frowned.

"I _expect _you to stay with your party as one group. I EXPECT you to not just teleport away and leave us!" Her words were getting louder and louder as she spoke.

Purdan's grin got fractionally wider, "Erossia, you need to understand _my _expectations. I expect to get rid of this curse as quickly as possible, so I won't need to travel with _your_ kind again."

"Just don't do it again! Whether you like it or not, we're a team and need to stick together while we all have this affliction."

Purdan, by then, was not listening but instead writing something on a piece of parchment.

"Krassin, where's the wizard?" he asked casually.

"Destrin went running back to his master. Who knew wizards were such suck ups?"

Erossia took a deep breath and cleared her throat expectantly. When neither of the men responded, she did it louder.

"Is there a reason you're being so annoying, Erossia?" Purdan asked shrewdly but still did not look up from his writings.

"I found a fifth person to join us on our quest. She has the affliction as well," Erossia gave Alkaria a nudge, "This is," she signaled to Alkaria to speak.

"Alkaria Amakiir, of the Amakiir family. Greetings, humans."

Purdan looked up and gave Alkaria a dirty look.

"Oh great. I leave you alone for a couple of days and you pick up some more dead weight. Erossia, what have I told you about bringing abominations home with you?"

Alkaria, before Erossia could say anything, glared furiously at Purdan. How dare he, this mere man, call her dead weight? He didn't know her from a bar of soap and she had done nothing to upset him!

"Excuse me? Dead weight? Did I hear you correctly?"

Purdan frowned, "Urgh, it's not even intelligent for dead weight. Yes, that's what I said, wench, **dead weight **– that's what you_ are. _The standard of abominations has really gone down these days."

Krassin was still standing there with his arms folded still, but was now guffawing at Purdan's claims on Alkaria.

Alkaria was furious and incredibly taken aback. How could one man be the source of so much negativity to strangers he didn't even know? It went against every strand of Alkaria's being. Hospitality and trust, not hostility and betrayal. Alkaria knew from this moment on, that she'd be keeping a close eye on this Purdan fellow and would stand her ground by any means necessary to defend her beliefs.

Erossia turned back to Alkaria, worry evident in her eyes. She fears for me? Erossia underestimates my power, Alkaria thought sourly. He was just another arrogantly snobbish lord like the ones from home. She's dealt with his type before and won, why should this be any different?

"Come Alkaria, let us go and do the research," Erossia said, as she showed Alkaria the way back down the dusty aisle of books.


End file.
